Saturday's Critters # 662

Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

As usual, I am sharing my dog Miney and our walks on the trails, birds from my yard and the local watershed fire roads. 

Click on images for better viewing.

1. I am addicted to the Merlin App, I have it on during everyone of my walks with Miney.  I included one of my Goldfinch photos with the Merlin app screenshot.

Below one of my Cardinal photos is added to the Merlin Screenshot.

2. July 8, walk with Miney on our local Prettyboy fire road. This local fire road trail is mostly covered with pine needles, which makes walking so much easier. The weeds and grasses are taking over some of our other local trails. They need to come and cut the grass on the trails, I am sure the ticks and bugs love the long grass. 

" A walk in nature walks the soul back home."

 

Above I included the Chipping Sparrow image and below is the House Finch image.

3. I am sticking to the same trail for walking Miney, we walk till we come to the downed tree and then turn around and go back home. 

"An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."

The  Scarlet Tanager is a breeder in the Prettyboy Watershed, I can recognize their calls while I am out walking Miney.

The Pine Warbler is another breeder in our local Prettyboy Watershed, I hear them calling off the trail and they sometimes visit my deck for some food. 

4. Miney loves her walk on the fire road! 

You can see the reservoir is still low, the water usually is up to the trees. The Killdeer are enjoying the muddy area and the geese love the grasses that are growing.

5. A zoomed in look at a Killdeer, I saw 8-10 Killdeer running around the muddy area. 

Killdeer

A Bald Eagle spooked the Killdeer flying in and making the Killdeer take off and fly around. The Eagle landed in a tree and the Killdeer went back to their spot on the mud.

Prettyboy Merlin birds, from our walk to the reservoir.

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday   I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Check out  Catblogosphere.com

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post! 

Saturday's Critters # 656

  Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

Click on images for better viewing.

My usual walks with hubby and Miney. Walks were at the local Prettyboy fire roads, the NCR bike trail and some images are from my back yard. 

1. Our local Prettyboy Reservoir is said to be down 6 feet, water levels so low Miney and I could walk on the shoreline. 

Blooms in the Prettyboy watershed are the Mountain Laurels and the Big Leaf Magnolia blooms. 

2.  One nice sunny day I saw lots of the slider turtles sitting out on the logs in the water. Some looked like tiny baby turtles. 

These images are from the front section of the Prettyboy Reservoir, some wildflowers included Spiderwort. Again you can see how low the water levels are at the Prettyboy Reservoir. 

Below are some Killdeer, not the best photo, it is heavily cropped. 

"Birds are little miracles."

3. A Downy Woodpecker looked like it was too hot. One of our hotter Spring days. It was in the 90's. I have a big bird bath filled with water on my deck. 

The Purple Clematis blooms are looking pretty. 

4. Our walk with Hubby and Miney on the NCR bike trail. Some wildflowers and a tiny frog and more Mountain Laurels. 

Bird heard along the NCR Bile trail. 

5. May 22nd, we enjoyed seeing Wyatt graduate pre-school and he will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. Mason will move up to his last year of pre-school in the fall. Sophie has to wait one more year before starting pre-school. 

6. A walk with Miney on our local fire road. Miney does not mind stopping and listening for the birds. 

"Wherever there are birds, there is hope."

The Ovenbirds are a common bird in my area and around the Prettyboy watershed.  Here is a link to Cornell's website sharing the  sounds of the Ovenbird

7. Almost home from my Walmart shop, I was stuck behind this Amish buggy. We are starting to see more of these horse and buggies in our area.  I think the Amish have bought up some old big farms in the area. I rather see the farm land being used as farms then turned into housing developments. Some local farm land has turned into solar panel farms.

8. Along our driveway, there are multiple species of clematis growing. I see there is some honeysuckle trying to take over.  

Another local walk with Miney, growing along the fire road are lots of ferns,  Mountain Laurels and the Big leaf Magnolia trees.  

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday   I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Check out  Catblogosphere.com

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post! 

Saturday's Critters # 652

   Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

Click on images for better viewing.

This post continues with our little getaway to the Eastern shore of Maryland, we stopped on the way home at the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.  We saw so many birds, Eagles and Osprey were plentiful. There were Egrets, Herons, Red-headed Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatches, various shorebirds and gulls. 

1. Below are an Osprey couple, one Osprey  eating a fish perched on the side of the nest.  

My Merlin App showed just some of the birds seen and heard at the Blackwater wildlife refuge in Cambridge Maryland. 

2. Seen below are the Brown-headed Nuthatch top left and the Eastern Bluebird top right. Bottom left is the red-headed Woodpecker and a Killdeer on the right. 

3. We saw some Great Egrets hanging about in the wetlands. 

The Great Blue Herons are a common sight to see along the wildlife drive. 

4. My Merlin App picked up both the Lesser Yellowlegs and the Greater Yellowlegs. 

5. The Ospreys and Eagle sightings were plentiful.  I think both the Ospreys and the Eagles are impressive beautiful birds.  

6. There were two Eaglets in the nest, this photo is heavily cropped.

7. This pair of Eagles posed in a pine tree that was next to the wildlife drive. 

8. The sun was reflecting on the Glossy Ibis

A Killdeer with two chicks at the visitor center. 

Killdeer chick looked cute, it was seen on the visitor center parking lot. 

I hope you enjoyed my bird sightings at the Blackwater Wildlife refuge, these photos were all taken from my car window. My reason for not being perfect photos.  

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday   I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post.

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.

Check out  Catblogosphere.com

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!